Inventory of the Louis Marshall Papers, 1816-1878

Collection Number 3851


Manuscripts Department, University Library of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Collection Information
Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Online Catalog Headings
Biographical/Historical Note
Collection Overview
Contact Information:
Manuscripts Department
CB#3926, Wilson Library
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8890
Phone: 919/962-1345
Fax: 919/962-3594
Email: mss@email.unc.edu
URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/
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Descriptive Summary

Repository
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Creator
Marshall, Louis, 1773-1866.
Title
Louis Marshall Papers, 1816-1878
Call Number
3851
Language of Materials
Materials in English
Extent
Items: About 95
Linear Feet: 0.5
Abstract
Louis Marshall was a physician and educator, native of Virginia, and younger brother of chief justice John Marshall (1755-1835). Marshall married Agatha Smith (1780-1844) and with her had six children, three of whom served in the U.S. Congress: Thomas Francis Marshall (1801-1864), representative from Kentucky, 1841-1843; Edward Colston Marshal (1821-1893), representative from California, 1851-1853; and Alexander Keith Marshall (1808-1884), representative from Kentucky, 1855-1857.
The collection is primarily personal letters, 1840-1857, concerning activities of members of the Marshall family of Kentucky. The majority of the letters were written b y the women of the family, especially Marshall's daughter, Agatha (1818-1858), who married Caleb Logan and lived in Louisville, Ky., and her cousin, Mira Madison (1803-1883), who married Andrew Jonathan Alexander and lived in Woodford County, Ky. Most letters concern domestic life and family matters. Many discuss travel, church attendance, social class, and neighborhood events; others refer to the health and activities of slaves owned by members of the Marshall and Alexander families. There are also occasional references to the local and national economies, duels, and sectional tensions. There is a photocopy of a letter, 1843, from John Quincy Adams to Thomas F. Marshall, and a photocopy of a letter, 1844, from Andrew Jackson to Marshall. There is very little information on the Civil War.

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Administrative Information

Restrictions to Access
No restrictions.
Alternate Form of Material
All or part of this collection is available on microfilm from University Publications of America as part of the Records of ante-bellum southern plantations from the Revolution through the Civil War, Series J.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Mrs. Guy A. Cardwell, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, in July 1969, December 1975, and April 1977.
Processing Information
Processed by: Scott Philyaw, June 1991
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
This collection was rehoused under the sponsorship of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Office of Preservation, Washington, D.C., 1990-1992.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Louis Marshall Papers #3851, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Copyright Notice
Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848.
Alexander, Mira Madison, 1803-1883.
Dueling--Kentucky--History--19th century.
Family--Kentucky--Social life and customs.
Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845.
Kentucky--Economic conditions.
Logan, Agatha Marshall, 1818-1858.
Louisville (Ky.)--Social life and customs.
Marshall, Agatha Smith, 1780-1844.
Marshall, Alexander Keith, 1808-1884.
Marshall, Edward Colston, 1821-1893.
Marshall, John, 1755-1835.
Marshall, Louis, 1773-1866.
Marshall, Thomas Francis, 1801-1864.
Plantation life--Kentucky.
Sectionalism (United States)--History--19th century.
Slavery--Kentucky.
Women--Kentucky--Social life and customs.
Woodford County (Ky.)--Social life and customs.
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Biographical/Historical Note

Louis Marshall, 1773-1866, physician, educator, and youngest brother of chief justice John Marshall (1755-1835), was born in Fauquier County, Virginia. He moved with his parents to Kentucky in 1785. After studying medicine in Europe during the 1790s, he returned to Kentucky where he settled on the family estate "Buckpond." In 1800, he married Agatha Smith (1780-1844). He served as president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), 1830-1834, and was a professor and president pro tem at Transylvania College, 1838-1840

Three of Louis and Agatha Marshall's six children served in the United States Congress: Thomas Francis Marshall (1801-1864) represented Kentucky, 1841-1843; Edward Colston Marshall (1821-1893) represented California, 1851-1853; and Alexander Keith Marshall (1808-1884) represented Kentucky, 1855-1857.

The Marshalls also had one daughter, Agatha (1818-1858), who married Caleb Logan. She and her cousin, Mira Madison (1803-1883), who married Andrew Jonathan Alexander, wrote over half the letters contained in this collection.

(Biographical information from the Dictionary of American Biography.)

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Collection Overview

Approximately half the letters were written by the Marshall's only daughter, Agatha Logan of Louisville, Kentucky, and her cousin, Mira Madison Alexander of "Sherwood" in Woodford County, Kentucky. Seventy five percent of the items are from 1840-1857.

Despite the family's political connections, there are very few explicitly political items in the collection. Domestic life and familial concerns predominate. However, there are hints of broader topics. While the national debate on slavery is barely mentioned, the writers do discuss their own problems with domestic "servants." The role of violence in Southern society may be glimpsed through the correspondents' occasional participation in duels and feuds. There are also references to the local and national economies and to sectional tensions. However, there is very little information on the Civil War. This collection is particularly strong in descriptions of social and family life in Kentucky. Many letters discuss travel, church attendance, social calls, and neighborhood events. Letters often refer to the health and activities of slaves owned by members of the Marshall and Alexander families.

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Arrangement of Collection

Series 1. Correspondence
Series 2. A Web of Family

Detailed Description of the Collection

1. Correspondence, 1816-1878 and undated.

92 items.
Arrangement: chronological.
Primarily personal letters, 1840-1857, concerning activities of members of the Marshall family of Kentucky. The majority of the letters were written by the women of the family, especially Marshall's daughter, Agatha (1818-1858), who married Caleb Logan and lived in Louisville, Ky., and her cousin, Mira Madison (1803-1883), who married Andrew Jonathan Alexander and lived in Woodford County, Ky. Most letters concern domestic life and family matters. Many discuss travel, church attendance, social calls, and neighborhood events; others refer to the health and activities of slaves owned by members of the Marshall and Alexander families. There are also occasional references to the local and national economies, duels, and sectional tensions. There is a photocopy of a letter, 1843, from John Quincy Adams to Thomas F. Marshall, and a photocopy of a letter, 1844, from Andrew Jackson to Marshall. There is very little information on the Civil War.
Folder 1
1816-1838
Folder 2
1840-1844
Folder 3
1845-1849
Folder 4
1850-1878 and undated

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2. A Web of Family

1 item.
A Web of Family: Letters From a Kentucky Family, 1816-1865 containing transcriptions of many of the letters in this collection. Typescript (251 pages) of 92 letters of Marshall, Alexander, and related families of Woodford County, Kentucky, edited with a preface and introduction by Margaret R. (Mrs. Guy A.) Cardwell. Bound in two volumes.
Transcriptions of most items appear in A Web of Family: Letters From A Kentucky Family, 1816-1865. Items that do not appear in A Web of Family are listed below and are originals except where indicated:
Letters:
27 March 1818 Elisa Colston to Dr. Louis Marshall.
18 August 1840 M. [?] Pope to Agatha Marshall.
26 November 1841 Wm. S. R. [?] to Agatha M. Marshall, two poems.
2 December 1843 John Quincy Adams to Thomas F. Marshall, photocopy and typed transcript.
24 June [18]44 Ann A. Reid to Agatha M. Logan.
21 November 1844 Andrew Jackson to Thomas F. Marshall, photocopy and typed transcript.
29 May 1844 Necrology of Mrs. Agatha Marshall and handwritten transcript.
2 August [1860?] D. C. Goodrich to Caleb Logan.
18 January 1878 W. L. Marshall to Edward [?]
12 September 1878 W. L. Marshall to Edward C. Mars[hall?]
28 September 1878 W. L. Marshall to Edward [?]
[undated] [?] to Dr. Louis Marshall, care of Caleb Logan, poem in French and handwritten transcript
[undated] Thomas F. Marshall to John Coleman.
Newspaper clippings:
15 January 185? [?] reviews congressional speech of Mr. Marshall.
3 April 1853 The Daily Pennsylvanian, sketch of Edward C. Marshall of California and John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky.
There are also a few items in A Web of Family for which there is no corresponding original or photocopy in the collection.
Folder 5
Volume I (pages i-v, 1-200), preface, introduction, and letters
Folder 6
Volume II (pages 201-251), notes

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